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Picked up a nail right on the edge of the side wall so a repair isn’t viable. £325s worth of new tyre on Thursday!!!!!!
Christ , what tyre is it ?
I'm assuming the expensive tyres are to reduce the rolling resistance to the minimum and allow them to advertise a fraction of a percent more range? Like the full wheel 'hubcaps' to reduce drag. A typical ICE driver doesn't mind spending a bit more on fuel, but EV drivers are paranoid about range?
Let’s hope the tyre thing gets a bit more sensible. EVs are heavy so I get why bigger / stronger tyres are needed but I can’t see why they should cost massively more.
Just checked and the tyres for my ETron (400BHP 2.5 tonne behemoth) are £210 fitted - Bridgestone Alenza 255/50 R20 H - pretty beefy tyres and whilst not cheap don’t seem so bad compared to your quote
Thankfully my Tusker car includes tyres! As above, manufacturers fitted EV tyres are based on efficiency, not the best grip. Fit what you like.
I’m assuming the expensive tyres are to reduce the rolling resistance to the minimum and allow them to advertise a fraction of a percent more range?
No. There is no such thing as a 'special' EV tyre as far as I know, they are just normal tyres. However, due to the low noise inside an EV, tyre noise became the loudest and most annoying thing so they pushed tyre companies into developing (or at least rolling out, no pun intended) the tyres with the foam damping on the inside. These might be sold as EV tyres, but they're just tyres and you can fit them to any car. Who wouldn't want less tyre noise?
EVs are heavy, but so are plenty of other cars - my EV max load is less than that of my diesel estate. I'd guess wingnuts' tyre was in an odd size, and he needed one there and then so it wasn't on special offer at that time. And it sounds like Hyundai have been playing silly buggers too.
All cars now come with rubbish versions of eco tyres on. These are much worse than the after market eco tyres with the same name, which are pretty good. It puts people off eco tyres which is a shame because it shouldn't.
Black circles are showing £150 for Bridgestone Turanza T005 in the 19" size for the Ioniq 5
dantsw13
Free MemberThankfully my Tusker car includes tyres! As above, manufacturers fitted EV tyres are based on efficiency, not the best grip. Fit what you like.
Including accident damage or just age related wear and tear?
Both
So molgrips is right I did need it there and then. Its a Michelin 20" with EV, Extra load, acoustic etc etc. Looking on line now I can find the same for about £35 cheaper but I think stock is an issue for many dealers so the point about Hyundai playing silly buggers seems valid. I mean in a car this advanced why oh why isn't there a road debris removal app!?!! Still I think it illustrates whatever way you travel there's a cost to pay one way or the other!!!
Leasing company called me cos the lease is up in 6 months. I had a quick check on their own sites and they have some Citroën C4 EVs at under £300 depending on mileage. Anyone had a look at one of these?
My Octavia iV plug-in hybrid has been on order since late September. I believe Skoda has stopped taking orders for the plug-in hybrid indefinitely. Supply issues continue to bite hard. Lease company said 6 months delivery, but it's looking like that was pie in the sky. Skoda forums are suggesting it's more like 18 months.
Boot is pretty small (think Mazda3 size). Brother in law has one.
C4 range isn’t huge, if that bothers you? Having had an MG5 on short term lease waiting for my Ioniq5, I’d be tempted with the MG4.
No. There is no such thing as a ‘special’ EV tyre as far as I know, they are just normal tyres.
When the Zoé was launched Michelin did a specific EV tyre for it called the Michelin ENERGY E-V. My first Zoé had them. They were claimed to give 6% more range. They were OK: round black and didn't cause me to take any interest in them. BW i3s also had EV specific tyres.
The Zoé 50 came with Michelin Primacy 4. They felt more precise but required caution when very wet, and they wore unevenly (a known problem, some people even persuaded Michelin to give them free replacements). I changed them early for Cross Climates. The Cross Climates are round black and don't draw attention to themselves except maybe when going through standing water when anticipated loss of grip doesn't happen. Most of the benefits of a Winter tyre without the slightly wooly feel of a full Winter tyre in Summer.
Yep cross climates are great. Sadly my package means I can only have th3 standard manufacturers model.
We looked at the C4 and had a test drive. Nice enough inside and outside. But main takeaway on driving one is very light steering, took some getting used to. So defo have a test drive
Reading up at the time, I think there was some question marks about the range but newest versions have some update to address this - so I'd do some tradition that
Could anyone work out which EVs were in fire on the M1 today? I wonder how much mileage the media will try to get out of this one?
I’m nearly at the point of taking the plunge. I either need to put a deposit on a new MG4 EV and wait about 4-5 months, or for only a bit more I can get a Tesla Model 3 Long Range with around 20,000 miles on the clock.
I’m hovering towards the Tesla on the basis of they are much nicer (but presumably people will think I’m a flashy git) and probably better residual value, although the main reason I can afford one is they have lost a lot of value in the last 2 months so difficult to say if this will prove to be true.
....currently awaiting ChargedEV to arrive and install charge point at home 🙂 The car isn't coming for another 6 months though....
Lease deal through work, with Tusker, and the charger supply and fitting is included
I'd not been watching used Model 3 prices (gone off the car a bit since it launched), I'm guessing there's a good supply of ex-lease hitting the market and people trading up to a Y, as far as I understand servicing and repairs are a bit ££££ with the Model 3. I'm currently driving an early MG ZS EV which is OK but rattles from everywhere and doesn't rapid charge very quickly (newer MGs are much better in both respects) so my current plan is to get the MG4.
Could anyone work out which EVs were in fire on the M1 today? I wonder how much mileage the media will try to get out of this one?
Look like IPace's at first glance.
And oh yes, get your EV bullshit bingo cards at the ready 😉
When I looked the other day, Model Y were on 2-4 week order, as was the Y performance.
The long range was Jan-Mar23.
basic 3 was 2-4 weeks with Jan-Mar23 for long range and performance.
Can't imagine you can get your hands on any new EV quicker than that at the moment
Word of warning. I had a Rolec installed in 2015. The contactor in the unit actually melted (surprised it didn't catch fire) - so 1. I stupidly expected car chargers to last a long time, not 5-7 years.
Secondly and more importantly check what cable size you've got running to your car charger - mine is a 2.5mm which is not rated for 32amps. I'm surprised it's been working but genuinely there must be a risk that stuff gets a bit "warm" and burns the garage down. Net: your car charger installers might not be super motivated to ensure your whole system is properly speccced and setup, maybe they just want to sell you a charger to install....
I had also planned on an MG4 EV but the 5 mths wait time and my second hand experience from my father with regards to charging when away from home is making me err back towards a Tesla again.
@swedishmatt Good point. We upgraded the cable going to our outside RCD box to something thicker specifically to handle the sort of current the charger would put out. We were already specced for the three phase we have outside for the wood splitter, but the new cable is even heavier.
That said, we only have 16A on the circuits, so need to tune down the max amps in the charger software to avoid tripping the circuit for the water. I really should get an upgrade to 20A from our supplier, but not right now.
So, ChargedEV did survey this afternoon, they reckon pretty simple through integral garage where fuse box is on back wall. They’ll be back within a week to install, Charger is Easee 7kW, cable is approx 12-15mm dia and will go along garage internal wall at ceiling height, out through breeze blocks and brick wall to mount location near front door.
From the erroneously started thread.
I would share todays experience of using an EV at -2 degrees C. I am sure lots f people will say that newer batteries won’t be affected in the same way or that ICE cars are also less economical in the cold. I am not trying to preach for or against EVs, just sharing some facts.
I have a ten year old Nissan Leaf which has a battery that has deteriorated so that in the best warm weather it has an indicated range, when fully charged, of 45 miles which actually translates to 25 – 30 miles*
Today, when fully charged, it had an indicated range of 22 miles which actually left me with an indicated 2 miles after driving 6.5 – so probably less than 8 mile range!
WBO pointed out on the other thread that charging in cold temps doesn;t help and the car was charged while sat on the drive at about -2 using the 3 pin charger I always use.
*I know the ‘guess-o-meter’ range prediction is based on the most recent driving but this was also in sub-zero temperatures doing the normal supermarket type trip that results in the 45 mile reading at 20 degrees in the summer.
To add my experience to this, albeit a brand new (5K miles old) loan car rather than anything vaguely affordable.
I set off to see my parents this weekend, most driving somewhere between -2 and +2 degC. 267 miles covered, and I spend a total of 40 mins charging over the weekend. I did a charge 3/4 of the way there as it's the Ionity stations are the cheapest fast charging my contract allows then another one on the way back. Total 42 mins charging over the whole weekend (about double the time I'd normally expect as batteries charge slowly when cold and my ETron doesn't have pre-conditioning that most good modern cars have). Overall efficiency was 2.3 miles/kw.hr vs 2.6 or 2.7 I've seen in September. They're all low numbers, a more sensible car would do better but the relative change summer to winter is what I'm looking at here.
Total cost for the trip was £22, a diesel would have to do 105 MPG to match that, and the ETron is a large, comfy, fast (400BHP) premium car.
I'm impressed that even in winter it's manageable and "just worked"
I get about 2/3 normal range leaving the ski resort at about -5°C. The regen doesn't work at all initially and I get a battery too cold warning. As the battery warms up the regen starts working and the range increases. By the time I get home the main thing affecting range is the heater being on max.
I lose on average about 35 miles in winter as I have the heater on low. Obviously, the higher the heat and the more the blower is on the less I get. So in reality I get about 230-240 miles a charge in winter compared to 260-270 in summer and my car is just over 2 years old and I haven't noticed any battery degradation.
I'm not obsessed about the minute detail in battery & charging technology I just jump in it and drive.
[i] The regen doesn’t work at all initially [/i]
I noticed the regen wasn't working but didn't realise it was temperature related.
Perhaps I should heat my garage and charge it in there from now on. Where was that garage heater thread 🙂
Just a note - the heater was just set to 18 as it is all year round. I only use the car for short journeys - it can't do long ones - so just stick a coat on if it is cold.
I noticed the Zoe dropped from about 4m/kWh to barely 3 since the temperatures. I'd assumed MrsR had been in lead-foot mode, but it was no better when I drove it so hopefully it is the effects of low temperature and not a fault.
ICE cars are also less economical in the cold.
I had simplistically assumed lower air inlet temperatures giving higher air density would increase power and efficiency - is that not the case?
Insulating the garage would be enough, but not the floor. Do that and heat from the ground will keep the garage well above freezing and the car will charge fine. 😉
[i]ICE cars are also less economical in the cold.
I had simplistically assumed lower air inlet temperatures giving higher air density would increase power and efficiency – is that not the case?[/i]
I must admit I just put that there as an example of the kind of junk some EV fanatics spout. It is probably marginal as the car needs longer to warm up and become operationally efficient so for short journeys like might it might be worse, especially for wear and tear on the engine. On longer journeys it will be little different as using a heater in an ICE car doesn't draw extra energy, just diverts the hot air already produced.
ICE cars are chronically inefficent during warm up, they require a much higher fuel:air mix to run until warmed up. As with EVs efficieny returns once warm. The efficieny probem with EVs is the cabin heater which drwas from the battery whereas an ICE uses waste heat to warm the cabin once the engine is warm.
Could you put one of those cheap Chinese diesel heaters in an EV car to then let you run with the heating off?
Overall efficiency was 2.3 miles/kw.hr
I have an 850 mile trip to do in the end of January, which will cost me £122 in petrol based off 44mpg and the Costco fuel price from today of 139.9p.
If you're pulling 2.3 miles per kWh, based on charging at home on my tariff of 32p per kWh, and 850 miles divided by 2.3mi/kWh, you'd need 369kwh to complete the distance, meaning a cost of £118 for the electric for the journey.
Am I missing something here? EV charging tarrifs perhaps?
Am I missing something here?
That 400bhp ICE SUVs don't generally do 44mpg?
Am I missing something here? EV charging tarrifs perhaps?
Find a large 400bhp ICE SUV that’ll do 44mpg.
@simondbarnes - wash your mouth out with soap and water. Or Diesel.
@airvent - your personal cost will vary with several factors. For me it’s as follows 1 - I can charge at work at 4p/kw.hr - this massively helps and means short ish trips are all but free. 2 - range - my ETron has a fairly short range of about 200 miles (varies summer to winter of course) so beyond this I am charging as roadside fast chargers 3 - various tariff / subscription options / the ETron comes with a years subscription to the IONITY transit tariff which gives 32p/kw/hr and I deliberately go via IONITY chargers where I can.
TLDR 1 - the longer the journey I make the more it costs per mile. Equally once my new car arrives (a BMW i4) the distance at which this kicks in will increase.
TLDR 2 - using only motorway chargers or EV charge rates electric cars cost roughly similar amounts of money to fuel as ICE cars these days. To be fair mine is massively inefficient and should be compared to something like a 4 litre v8 Range Rover than a small batch but hopefully you know what I mean.
If it's a 100 grand car why bother getting an electric one at all? If someone can afford a car that costs £100,000 I'd assume fuel costs aren't an issue so they might as well have bought a 3 year old Mercedes G Wagon...
I had simplistically assumed lower air inlet temperatures giving higher air density would increase power and efficiency – is that not the case?
That can be true. However they engine mass itself (block, heads, manifolds etc) will all absorb energy as they heat up so the engines efficiency will be fairly poor until this has reached equilibrium.
EVs have a similar thing too but for a different reason as the cabin heating requires “extra” power unlike an ICE car where that is just using waste heat from the engine. One of the reasons why using ore heating is good for efficiency in an EV if it’s done while on mains power.
If it’s a 100 grand car why bother getting an electric one at all? If someone can afford a car that costs £100,000 I’d assume fuel costs aren’t an issue so they might as well have bought a 3 year old Mercedes G Wagon…
for someone buying a car at that price with their own money I doubt that running costs are factor. From a selfish point of view I couldn’t see any point in an EV at all- far easier to chuck petrol at a large engine.
For me, personally (it’s not a £100k car by the way- to be fair not far off though at just over £70k rrp), there are two factors.
1 - it’s a company car, so there are massive tax implications that more or less force the choice, but more importantly…
2 - this is hopefully paving the way for more accessible and sustainable transport options. It take people using chargers to build the business case to build more etc etc. I hope that this mindset also exists for some of those buying EVs with their own money.
@airvent (by the way, I’m not picking on you - you’ve just raised some really important questions that I think are extremely relevant to uptake of EVs thanks for the conversation).
I just noticed that your 850 mile trip cost rough calc if based on your home elec cost. The bad news is that unless you’ve got a subscription to a charge network (that has a monthly cost once the Abu trial period is over) fast chargers are typically a lot higher cost than that - think more like 65p+ some are £1. You get quite good at a scrooge-like approach to sniffing out charge opportunities! On the flip side on an EV tariff you can charge for much less overnight so that would help for some usage.
In short it’s not ideal yet. Fulm disclosure - if it was my own personal money and the company car thing had not happened I would have just replaced my old diesel Avensis with a slightly newer one when the time came.
Been away for the weekend and we took the Ionic 5 fully charged. 8 o'clock yesterday morning at -2 degrees it was on 75% and showing 165 as the range when I would have expected something in the 190/200s. Moving carparks and 5 miles of odds and sods the range rose back up to 180. Left the car in an underground car park last night and topped up it back to 100%. Bitterly cold (0/-1) but the 50 mile trip home tonight equated to 19% (about normal).
So what I have learnt this school day is - The start up range is drastically affected if parked in the open, the initial warm up brings it back to reasonable efficiency pretty quickly and if you leave from a cold environment where there isn't direct frost exposure things seem to be within normal margins of variability.
Its only got 2k on the clock so still new I suppose. Continue to love it.
[i]Find a large 400bhp ICE SUV that’ll do 44mpg.[/i]
A car rather than an SUV but 600bhp instead of 400. Close enough?
Mileage, time and speed were all zeroed at the start of the journey. Southampton to Manchester, mixed motoring leaving just after lunch